


Of Truths and Lies, I Know My Side

by SkullQueen_Loritta



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is a doormat for about 5 chapters, Akumatized Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alya Salt, Angry Alya Césaire, Bisexual Chloé Bourgeois, Bisexual Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chameleon Salt, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, Dragon!Kagami, Episode: s03e01 Chameleon, F/F, F/M, Fox!Marc, Gen, I may be going to hell for this, Identity Reveal, Lila lies but what else is new, Lila salt, M/M, Marinette deserves better, Marinette getting some actual loyal friends, Marinette has people in her corner, Miraculous Ladybug Salt, My First Work in This Fandom, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, People get slapped, Puns Are Made, She doesn't think and says something offensive in chapter 2, Swearing, Things don't go well for Alya here, Turtle!Ondine, Was original going to have this rated T for the swears, Yes Hi I'm salty about how chameleon went, akumanette, but Akumanette is going to cause some graphic stuff, group chats, lila gets exposed, ml salt, ml salt fic, salt fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-24 00:29:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19162117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkullQueen_Loritta/pseuds/SkullQueen_Loritta
Summary: Lila returns and Marinette's not sure if she can handle it when it looks like her class is going to turn against her. Thankfully, Marinette has her brother Zephyr, Chloe, and her friends from another class who has her back and are more than willing to help her. Especially when a new student joins that class who reveals that they already know all of Lila's tricks.





	Of Truths and Lies, I Know My Side

Marinette wasn't able to stay in the class room for much longer. Once the bell for lunch rang when Mme. Bustier was done with her lesson for the time being, Marinette quickly gathered her belongings and rushed to the bathroom. The class had basically banished her to the back of the room due to Lila’s lies and she just couldn’t handle it. She gripped the sink, trying not to give into her negative emotions. The door next to her opened and closed.

“Nette, are you okay?” A voice asked. Marinette recognized the voice immediately.

“Oh, hi Suzie.” Marinette sniffled. Suzie Tsurugi was 16, just a year older than Marinette, and Japanese-American. She had chocolate brown hair that went to the mid of her back while her bangs faded into azure-ish white right under her eyes, bronze yellow eyes, and pallor-Asian skin. She usually had on a french sky blue shirt with a short sleeve lavender mist jacket over it, a light blue circle hair clip, dark pastel purple capris, slate blue boots, a black choker with a bell on it around her neck, and electric blue fingerless gloves with a Gravity Falls themed purse. Marinette had been the first one to welcome her when she had first moved to Paris and the two had just clicked, making them friends ever since.

Suzie pulled out a tissue from her purse, giving it to Marinette, “Okay, what's wrong Mari?”

“It's Lila.” Marinette said, accepting the tissue from the other girl.

“The serial liar?” Suzie asked. She remembered Marinette telling her about the Italian girl.

Marinette nodded, using the tissue to wipe at her eyes.

Suzie frowned, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Marinette took a couple of minutes to compose herself before telling Suzie what happened. Once Marinette was finished, she found herself being pulled into a hug by the other girl and didn’t hesitate to hug her back.

“Oh sweetie I’m so sorry.” Suzie said, pulling back when the hug was over, “How about you join my friends and I for lunch? It sounds like you need a break from the others. I got lemon bars~”

Marinette giggled, always enjoying the lemon bars that Suzie and her mom made, “Sure, sounds lovely.”

“Sweet, give me a few minutes to use the restroom and we’ll be good to go.” Suzie stated.

“Alright.” Marinette replied as the other entered the stall. She turned to back to the mirror to wipe away a few leftover tears as another person entered the bathroom.

“Marinette? Oh, are you crying?” Lila questioned.

“No I’m not!” Marinette stated.

“I can sense that you don't like me, but I don't understand why. We barely know each other.” Lila frowned. Oh Marinette could think of a few things, having a flashback to when she confronted the Italian girl.

“Don't tell me it's because of this new seating arrangement in class!” Lila exclaimed. Marinette glared at her, prompting her to go on, “It is! Of course, you're jealous because I'm sitting next to Adrien, because you would've given anything to sit there yourself. You know what? It's really not worth it fighting over a boy. You and I could be friends, and who knows, I might even be able to help you with Adrien.”

“You and I will only be friends the day you stop lying, Lila!” Marinette snapped, causing Lila to gasp but she didn’t care, “I can't prove it, but I know for a fact that you don't have tinnitus, that your wrist is just fine, that you don't know Prince Ali because you've never even stepped foot in Achu, and despite what you got Alya to write on her Ladyblog, Ladybug has never saved your life!”

Lila sneered, “I only tell people what they want to hear.”

Marinette growled, “It's called lying!”

Lila advanced towards Marinette, “There's nothing you can do about it, anyway. People can't resist when they hear what they like to hear. If you don't want to be my friend, fine! But soon you won't have any friends left at all, and trust me, I'll make sure you never get close to Adrien in class or anywhere. You seem a little less dumb than the others so I'll give you one last chance. You're either with me or against me. You don't have to answer right away. I'll give you 'till the end of class today.” She threatened, flipping her hair and walking away, leaving the bathroom. Things were quiet for a few minutes till a toilet was flushed and an angry Suzie came out of the stall she was in.

“I can’t believe she just did that! What a bitch!” Suzie ranted, going over to the sink and washing her hands.

“I thought Chloé was evil, but Lila really takes the whole cake. She's like a supervillain who doesn't even need a costume.” Marinette said.

Tikki poked her head out of Marinette's purse, “You mustn't let her get to you, Marinette.”

“Tikki’s right. If every fox got their way, then there wouldn’t be ladybugs to save us.” Suzie chimed, drying her hands off.

“If I don’t manage to expose her lies, she’ll ruin my life, you guys. She’ll turn my friends against me, including Adrien.” Marinette stated. She ended up screaming in frustration and punching the wall behind her before she started to cry. She heard Tikki yell out “Look out Marinette!” followed by feeling Suzie push her behind her. Marinette, after a brief moment of being disoriented, looked over Suzie’s shoulder.

“Ah, an akuma!” She cried as she watched the other fend off the incoming akuma with something shiny. 

“You can resist it, Marinette. Hawk Moth’s powers only affects people who think there’s no solution to their problems, and you always find a solution.” Tikki said.

Marinette nodded, determination flowing through her, “You're right! You won't get me, I'm proud, I'm confident, I'm Marinette!” She announced. The akuma, sensing Marinette's new found positive energy, started to fly away. Before it could though, Tikki zipped after it and swallowed it in one gulp.

“Tikki!” The two girls gasped in shock, looking disgusted at the actions of the red kwami. Tikki stared at them for a few moments before opening her mouth, a white butterfly rolling out and flying off.

“Well...that's one way to purify an akuma.” Suzie said, staring where the akuma had been then looking at Marinette, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks Su- what's that in your hand?!” Marinette squeaked, finally getting a good look at the object in Suzie's hand. It was a small red pouch with lilac trimmings and an ice blue stripe and button on the front. It was something that Marinette had seen before because she knows that's where Suzie keeps her money in. What had caught Marinette's attention was the fact that there a knife sticking out one side of it.

“Oh, that.” Suzie stated, gently pushing the knife back into the pouch, “Yeah, that’s gotta stay between you, me, and the tiny gods. Can’t afford to get in trouble for having this to keep myself safe outside of the school.”

“Is-Is there any particular reason why you have it?” Marinette asked.

“Sergei, my uncle's bodyguard/boyfriend, gave it to me.” Suzie answered, putting the pouch back in her purse.

“Oh. And the reason for that was?”

“...Uncle Katsuro's night job is dangerous. Uncle Sergei has a soft spot for us kids.”

“Oh.” Marinette said. She dropped the subject, looping her arm with Suzie’s as Tikki flew back into her purse, “Let’s head onto lunch huh? I believe you said something about lemon bars.”

Suzie smiled and nodded, grateful for the subject being dropped. The two left the bathroom and made their way to the lunch room. It was after Marinette had grabbed her lunch was when she realized that she had never met any of Suzie’s friends before with the exception of Adin Hiyashi, Suzie’s childhood friend who made the move to Paris around the same time she did, and Kokoro Badeaux, a Japanese-French girl who Suzie would often visit when her parents visited Japan. As they approached the table, Marinette took the chance to study those at the table. There was 12 people total at the table, 8 males and 4 females. There were those who she didn’t recognize: A girl with short wavy rich black hair, chocolate eyes, and pale Asian skin with freckles, a boy with short dark brown hair, hazel eyes under black glasses, and tanned skin which reminded her of Alya, a girl with medium length light blond hair, blue eyes, and, fair skin that seemed familiar to her, a boy with short bistre brown hair, phthalo green eyes behind blue rimmed glasses, and porcelain skin, and a trio of redheads whose eye colors she couldn’t make out at the moment for they were looking down at something. A smile overtook Marinette’s face when she spotted those who she did recognize: Kokoro with her sunset orange hair that went to the top of her back, tulip pink eyes shining with joy, and dark salmon skin as she tried to hide a smile at something, Adin with his short messy dark brown hair, prussian blue eyes under dark jungle green glasses, and olive skin, Suzie’s twin brother Mike and her cousin Akio, with Mike having short seal brown hair while his bangs faded into silver right under his eyes, dark pink eyes, and pallor-asian skin while Akio had short deep koamaru blue hair, bronze yellow eyes hidden behind diamond blue glasses, and light asian skin, and her own brother Zephyr with his brown hair that went to the top of his back with manatee blue streaks mixed in, green eyes full of warmth, and creamy skin just like their dad’s. Marinette figured that she was in good hands.

“Alright Marinette, you already know these five dorks here.” Suzie said, gesturing to Kokoro, Adin, Mike, Akio, and Zephyr, “So allow me to introduce you to the others. Guys, this is Marinette. She’s Zephyr’s sister.”

Mike pouted, “I am not a dork.”

“Yes you are and you know it.” Suzie stated. She then gestured to the first girl who had the short wavy rich black hair, chocolate eyes that had a playful shine in them, and pale asian skin with freckles, “Mar, this is Seonu Nari.”

“Annyeong.” Nari greeted with a wave. A small voice in Marinette’s head told her that the greeting was Korean.

“Hello.” Marinette greeted back, causing Nari to smile.

“Nari stop trying to get people to guess with your native tongue is.” Suzie chided, then gestured to the boy with short dark brown hair, hazel eyes that held mischief in them (Marinette made a mental note that he would probably be a good chosen for Trixx), and tanned skin, “This is Nicholas Césaire, Alya's brother.”

Marinette looked surprised, “I didn't know Alya had a brother.”

“I was on a study abroad trip and just got back a while ago. Nice to meet you.” Nicholas said, holding his hand out.

“Nice to meet you too.” Marinette replied, shaking his hand.

Suzie smiles and gestures to the second girl in the group who seemed familiar to Marinette with her medium length light blond hair, blue eyes, and, fair skin. Marinette could admit that the girl was beautiful. “This is Erika Agreste.” 

Marinette.EXE has stopped working, “A-Agreste? Like G-Gabriel Agreste?”

Erika chuckled, “Yep. You’re the girl in Adrien’s class who won dad’s derby hat contest right? And made those sunglasses for Jagged Stone?”

“Y-Yeah, that’s m-me!” Marinette stuttered, her face turning red, ‘ _Oh my god! Adrien’s sister is just as beautiful as he is!_ ’

Erika smiled, “Zeph, why didn’t you tell us that you sister was so amazing?”

“And that she was this adorable?” Nari asked, causing Marinette to blush harder.

“I thought it was obvious that my sister’s amazing.” Zephyr answered then turned to Nari and flicked her forehead, “No. Not for you.”

Nari pouted, “Buzzkill.”

Suzie bit back a snort, gesturing to the second boy who had short bistre brown hair, phthalo green eyes behind blue rimmed glasses, and porcelain skin. His posture screamed out ‘punk’ to Marinette, “This is Leonard Woods, our residential punk.”

“Please, call me Leo. Also don’t let my appearance fool ya, I’m actually a softie under all this punk.” Leo explained.

Marinette giggled, her facing going back to normal, “That’s good to know.”

Suzie gestured towards the last girl in the group, a lovely girl with bisque skin, long maroon hair that flowed down her back in a waterfall of deep red. Her piercing green eyes seemed to stare deep into Marinette’s soul, reminding her of the judgmental stare of a cat. “This is Miriam Lavoisier.” She then gestures to a boy with the same bisque skin tone, but with crimson hair cut to a semi short length and blue eyes that remind you of a hidden lagoon or a silvery moonlit lake. “This is her brother Varian.” Finally she gestured to the last boy, his Rose Madder red hair a little longer than Varian's and Cornell red eyes, but much paler than the other two with cool ivory skin. "And this is their brother Wren."

Marinette could hardly believe they were all siblings, especially Wren, she did a double take, gaze sweeping them slowly. Their posture and mannerisms hinted at being siblings. She shouldn’t be surprised that they’re siblings honestly, she goes through the same thing with Zephyr since she favored Sabine while he favored Tom.

‘ _Guess this is the first time I’ve been on the other end of that situation._ ’ She mused before saying, “It’s nice to meet you three.”

“Nari’s right, you simply are adorable~” Miriam said. Marinette almost didn’t hear it due to Miriam being soft spoken but she did, going red in the face once again.

Varian gently thumped his sister’s forehead, “Miri, please don’t break my boyfriend’s sister.”

That got Marinette's attention, making her look at her brother, “Wait, this is the same Varian that you've been dating? The one that maman and papa have been wanting you to bring over to dinner?” She asked, her and Suzie sitting at the table.

Zephyr nodded, “Yep. Varian here is my amazing, wonderful, adorable boyfriend.”

“Zeph!” Varian exclaimed, a blush appearing on his face.

Zephyr blinked, “What? It's true. I would shout it from the rooftops exactly how much I love you Vari.”

Varian's blush darkened, hiding his face as he muttered about how much of a dork his boyfriend was while Miriam and Wren chuckled softly.

‘ _Oh yeah, he’s definitely perfect for my brother._ ’ Marinette thought, shaking her head as she started on her lunch.

“So Marinette, what brings you to join our little band of mischiefs today?” Miriam asked. Marinette promptly proceeded to choke on her sandwich at that point. Suzie gently patted her back, helping the other girl not to die on her sandwich. Once she was able to breathe again, she weighed her options before deciding to go with the truth.

“Suzie offered me lemon bars after inviting me to join you guys. I'm glad she did, I'm...I'm not ready to be around my friends just yet…” Marinette answered.

This caught Zephyr and Nicholas’ attention, “What happened?”

Marinette sighed, looking at Zephyr, “You remembered that girl Lila I told you about?”

“The one who got turned into Volpina? Yeah, I do. What about her?” Zephyr asked.

Marinette took a deep breath before telling the group the same thing she told Suzie. By the time she was finished, Zephyr had his arm wrapped around her shoulders in a half hug, Nicholas looked disappointed in Alya, Erika was frowning, and the others looked disgusted.

“Fuck your class, you’re ours now.” Nari stated.

“While I don’t agree with Nari’s language choice, she’s right.” Kokoro chimed in.

Marinette felt touched at their actions, “I don’t know what to say you guys…”

“You don’t have to say anything, you’re our friend Marinette.” Akio said.

Adin nodded, “Anyone who messes with our friend messes with us. Lila better sleep with one eye opened.”

“No felonies, I don’t have the bail money prepared.” Suzie stated.

“But Nita-”

“I said no Adin.”

Marinette chuckled softly, watching Suzie and Adin fall into their usual playful bickering. As she took in the table’s surrounding with Zephyr’s arm still around her in comfort, she had a feeling that she was definitely in good hands.

~

Alya prided herself on being observant of those around her, knowing that it’s a valuable skill for a reporter to have in order to read the person being interviewed. It was a skill that she used to tell which teacher was about to give a pop quiz or when Chloe was about to throw another tantrum because something didn't go her way. She tries not to use it on her friends or her boyfriend because she respects them.(Though she would be lying if she said that she didn't slightly use it when Nino was having a bad day)

But because Alya doesn't use this skill on her friends, she was confused when she saw Marinette and Suzie enter the lunchroom with linked arms. The confusion grew when Suzie glared at her when she made a move to call out to Marinette. Had she missed something? She knew that Marinette and Suzie were friends but she never saw the two hang out after school and Marinette had never invited her to girls’ night with the others. So what happened for the two to come in together with linked arms? She frowned when she saw the two get their food and sit down at a table full of people Alya didn't know with the exception of her brother Nicholas.

“Everything okay babe?” Nino asked her.

“Did I miss something? I’ve never seen Marinette eat lunch with Suzie before.” Alya stated, watching as the guy next to Marinette wrapped his arm around her, “And who’s that guy with his arm around her?”

“Oh, that’s her boyfriend.” Lila piped in, looking over at the two.

“Her boyfriend?” Alya questioned.

“Yep. I heard her talking on the phone with him when I was heading towards the bathroom.” Lila explained. Once that was out in the open, it didn’t take long for the class to talk about it amongst themselves.

“Disgusting.” A voice said, causing the class to pause their discussion and turning to the source, seeing Chloe having her spoon in a death grip.

Lila smiled sweetly, “Oh don’t worry Chloe! I’m sure that one day you’ll fin-”

“Perhaps I wasn’t clear the first time.” Chloe interrupted, turning to glare at Lila, “I mean that _you’re_ disgusting. I didn’t peg you as an incest shipper, Rossi.”

Lila felt her smile falter, “W-What?”

“You heard me.” Chloe stated, narrowing her eyes, “That guy with his arm around Marinette? That's her _brother_ , Zephyr Dupain-Cheng. I suppose I can't hold you _entirely_ at fault, I mean you and Césaire are new after all.” She explained then turned her gaze onto the class, “But the rest of you? **_You should know better_**. All of you, myself included, have been going to school with Marinette since we were kids! You've all met him at one point! You should know that Zephyr is Marinette’s brother, not believing the word of this trash bitch with horrible lies!”

Alix piped up, “Why do you care Chloe? You don’t even like Marinette!”

“I may not be Marinette’s biggest fan but even I can tell that our everyday ladybug deserves better than you assholes for you sure as hell don’t deserve her.” Chloe commented, setting her spoon down and getting up.

“Where are you going Chloe?” Sabrina asked.

“To go be the friend that Marinette deserves. So fuck all of you.” Chloe replied. She picked up her tray and made her way over to where Marinette was, hearing soft laughter coming from the group. When she got to the group, she lightly cleared her throat, catching their attention.

"What's up Chloe?" Marinette asked, looking up.

Chloe shuffled slightly, "The serial liar and her sheep were making me sick. Would it be okay if I sat with you guys?"

Marinette and Suzie looked at each other then scooted apart, offering the spot in between the two of them to Chloe. Chloe smiled, accepting the spot and joining them.

Marinette smiled softly at Chloe, “Thank you Chloe. What you did means a lot.”

Chloe felt her face heat up, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Suzie chuckled, “You weren’t exactly quiet with your rant to the class, Mitsubachi.”

Chloe blushed more, “They deserved it. They’re being idiotic sheep for believing a lie that disgusting and- wait what did you just call me?”

“She called you honey bee.” Marinette explained.

“You speak Japanese?” Chloe questioned.

“Suzie taught me. She calls me Lucky Bug.” Marinette answered.

Chloe looked at Suzie, "Why lucky bug?" 

"When I first moved here I expected to have a rough first day but I didn't because the being of luck appeared to me in the form of Marinette and my first day here was a good one because of it. Marinette also told me how you guys called her your everyday ladybug. So therefore Rakkībagu." Suzie explained.

“That...That makes sense actually.” Chloe said after thinking on it. Marinette always did go out of her way to help others no matter what, so it would make sense for her to gain a friend from it. It was one of the things Chloe would secretly admit that she admired and envied Marinette for. She went back to eating her lunch, joining certain topics that the group talked about as they ate.

“Oh hey, you should add Marinette and Chloe to the group chat Suz.” Wren spoke up, looking up from the remains of his salad.

“I should. Give me a minute.” Suzie said, setting her lemon bar and taking out her phone, typing on it. Marinette and Chloe took their phones out when they felt it buzz, checking their notifications.

** Spells, Falls, and Gems without walls **

**  
_IcyHexes has added LuckyFashion and QueenBee to the chat._   
**

**IcyHexes:** Alright, now that our two newest members are here, ROLE CALL TIME!

 **CipherKing:** Zephyr.

 **Panda_Hero:** Varian.

 **PunkIsTheNewBlack:** Leo.

 **IcyHexes:** Suzie!

 **FireySpells:** Mike. My twin has had too many lemon bars.

 **Foxy_King:** Nicholas.

 **FelineFine:** Erika.

 **Photo_Honey:** Nari~

 **Acacatta:** Miriam.

 **SpicyBanana:** Wren. Please don’t question it.

 **Darling_Angel_Star:** Kokoro.

 **Wings_In_White_And_Blue:** Adin. Yes I’m a walking AoT reference.

 **Demon_With_A_Top_Hat:** Akio.

 **BatsArePeopleToo:** Please...Please let me sleep. It’s too early for this.

 **Photo_Honey:** It’s lunch time you coward.

“Really Erika? A cat pun?” Chloe asked, looking at the other blonde.

“What? I thought that it was _purrfect_ for a username if I say so.” Erika replied. Chloe groaned, trying her hardest not to facepalm.

“Who’s BatsArePeopleToo?” Marinette questioned.

“Oh, that’s my brother Seo-Jun. He’s out sick today.” Nari explained.

“What happened?” Marinette inquired.

“He was doing bat rescue in the rain and ended up catching a cold.” Nari answered.

“Oh my.” Marinette said. She looked at her phone for a minute then typed something out.

 **LuckyFashion:** Hi Seo-Jun I’m Marinette, Zephyr’s sister. Nari says that you’re out with a cold and I just wanted to say that I hope you feel better.

Satisfied, Marinette turned back to her lunch. Eating with Chloe was a bit weird but pleasant, especially since Chloe was getting along with the others at the table much to her surprise. In the end, Marinette enjoyed herself, even more so when Suzie brought the lemon bars out. She had let out a small giggle at Chloe’s surprised expression when the blonde found out that the lemon bars had been made by Suzie’s mom when she had asked the Japanese-American girl what bakery she bought the from.

~

The group had gone their separate ways after lunch, with Suzie and her friends going to their class while Marinette and Chloe headed back to Bustier’s class. Marinette had been prepared to sit by herself in the back, so she was surprised when Chloe sat down next to her.

“Chloe?” She asked, looking at the other.

“Mind if I sit with you? You need a friend and I need someone to keep me from murdering the class.” Chloe explained.

“Sure. But what makes you think I wouldn’t want to commit the murder myself?”

A smile, “Because you would’ve made the murder plans with Suzie during lunch if that was the case.”

Marinette giggled gently. Chloe wasn’t wrong but Marinette wasn’t going to say anything about that. The two chatted as the rest of the class filtered into the room, some having to do a double take when they saw that Chloe was sitting next to Marinette. When Mme. Bustier walked into the room to start the lesson, she blinked at the sight.

“Chloe, you’re not in your seat.” She stated.

“Actually, I asked Marinette if I could sit with her. She wasn’t here when the seating rearrangement was done and it’s not fair that she’s in the back by herself.” Chloe explained.

“Is this true Marinette?” Mme. Bustier asked.

“Yes Mme. Bustier, it is.” Marinette answered. Mme. Bustier, satisfied with the answer, turned the board and began with the lesson. Marinette took out her notebook and started writing down notes with Chloe doing the same. Marinette wasn’t sure what she was going to do about Lila but at the moment she didn’t care. She had people who were willing to have her back, with Chloe of all people coming to her defense, and that mattered to her more. She didn’t know what she was going to do about Lila but she did know one thing.

She wasn’t alone and that was what mattered. She could get through this.

**Author's Note:**

> So um, I started working on this before all of Chameleon came out so I was going off of the seating arrangement part. Then well the full ep came out, so many things about the episode bothered me because some of those things happened to me in my actual life. So while writing this fic is helping me through some stuff, this is also me giving Marinette the love and friends she deserves if the whole class is going to instantly turn dumb and believe someone whose lies are awful.


End file.
